TOKYO—Carlos Ghosn’s defense team has protested his latest arrest by Tokyo prosecutors, citing a chronic kidney condition made worse by his lengthy detention, according to a court document.

Mr. Ghosn’s medication for high cholesterol caused a condition called rhabdomyolysis, in which muscle cells break down, enter the blood stream and damage the kidneys in some cases, according to the document dated April 5 and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

People suffering from the condition are advised to exercise and eat a balanced diet. That approach is made more difficult by Mr. Ghosn’s detention, a Ghosn family representative said.

Lawyers for the former Nissan and Renault chairman drew attention to his condition in the court document, which was filed the day after his latest arrest—the fourth since Nov. 19.

The Tokyo court has said Mr. Ghosn, who is 65 years old, can be held without possibility of bail through Sunday, and prosecutors can ask the court to extend that period by 10 days. At that point, they would have to indict him on the latest suspicions or release him. After an indictment, Mr. Ghosn could seek release on bail.

Mr. Ghosn’s family is concerned that his condition will worsen the longer he stays in detention, the family representative said.

Carlos Ghosn, the former chairman of Nissan and Renault, assailed Nissan executives and said he is innocent, in a video released by his lawyers and was recorded before his arrest. Image: Getty Images

According to the court document, Mr. Ghosn’s doctor had ordered him to walk for an hour a day. In detention, he is allowed only a short period each day for exercise, and he faces hours of daily interrogation by prosecutors, during which he is required to sit.

Mr. Ghosn’s lawyers wrote in the document that the treatment of their client was “inhuman” given his medical condition.

Should Mr. Ghosn not receive bail, it is possible that he will be unable to leave his cell during the 10-day Golden Week holiday at the start of May, said the Ghosn family representative.

Mr. Ghosn’s latest arrest was based on suspicions that he took for his personal use $5 million of $15 million in payments made by Nissan to an Omani distributor. Mr. Ghosn had already been charged with several financial crimes in connection with his time at the Japanese auto maker. Mr. Ghosn has said he is his innocent of all the allegations and has blamed his arrest on “backstabbing” by Nissan executives.

According to people familiar with Nissan’s investigation, some of the Oman money alleged to have been taken Mr. Ghosn went to buy a yacht used by family members.

On Thursday, Mr. Ghosn’s wife, Carole, testified for nearly three hours at a Tokyo court on issues related to the Oman matter, responding to an order to appear as a witness in her husband’s case.

The session was closed to the public and Mr. Ghosn’s lead lawyer,
Junichiro Hironaka,
declined to say what was discussed. He said the defense team had urged Mrs. Ghosn to respond quickly to the court’s order in hopes of freeing her husband.

“The questioning is part of the investigation, so we thought it was better to do it quickly so that we can end Mr. Ghosn’s detention soon,” Mr. Hironaka said.

When prosecutors searched the couple’s Tokyo apartment on April 4, they asked Mrs. Ghosn to submit to voluntary questioning but she refused, she said in an interview that day. The next day, the Tokyo District Court, at prosecutors’ request, issued an order to Mrs. Ghosn to testify.

At that point, Mrs. Ghosn was heading to the airport for a flight to Paris. Mr. Hironaka said he couldn’t reach her to advise her of the court order because prosecutors had seized her phones. After she arrived in Paris, the defense team advised her to return to Tokyo to face questioning, he said.

In the U.S., the principle of spousal testimonial privilege generally means a wife can’t be ordered to testify in a case involving her husband, and vice versa. Japan has no such protection, although a spouse can refuse to answer questions that might advance a criminal case involving the other spouse.

Mr. Hironaka said Mrs. Ghosn didn’t invoke her right to refuse answers. “She answered very sincerely in line with her oath” to tell the truth, he said.

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